Islam, Shopping, Recognition: London's Islamic Markets In A European Perspective

10.1163/ej.9789004184756.i-712.796

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Chapter Summary

This chapter explores contemporary Muslim consumer cultures in Europe paying particular attention to London. It examines different types of commodities ('paraphernalia', clothes and halal) and 'Islamic' services, arguing that emerging Islamic markets raise a number of broader questions pertaining to the relationship between Muslim identities, shopping and recognition in modern Europe. London qualifies as a 'global city' as it plays an important role in linking the national as well as European economy with global circuits of commodities, people and ideas, and this is also the case with the Islamic marketplace. The chapter shows that the resonance of the hijab in Britain and elsewhere in the West is constantly being reshaped both through contemporary political events and their media coverage, as well as through the actions and campaigns of hijab wearers. London has become a European centre for Islamic markets during the last decade, changing the Islamic business and entrepreneurial environment.